Council certified to help with business loans

For the first time the state will require groups like the Somerset County Economic Development Council to go through a certification process so they can continue to help local businesses obtain loans.

The development council has been approved by the state Department of Community and Economic Development to administer a state loan program through June 30, 2011. To continue in the program, the council had to be certified by Dec. 31.

“This is very important,” said council Executive Director Jeff Silka. “Without the certification we would not be able to do what we have done for 52 years. We would not be able to service Somerset County businesses.”

The development council was formed half a century ago to support local economic development activities. One of the ways it does that is by helping businesses apply for loans through the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority.

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The council helped Somerset-based Guy Chemical Co. obtain a PIDA low-interest loan in January for an expansion project. Owner Guy Berkebile said the council’s assistance was invaluable.

“We have used PIDA state-backed low-interest loans and the development council’s involvement over the course of my company,” he said.

Guy Chemical Co. is located off state Route 31 east of Somerset. The company, which manufactures and packages epoxies and silicone sealants, was created in 1995. The most recent expansion includes the purchase of new manufacturing equipment that increases the company’s capacity for packaging silicone sealants in tubes by more than 50 percent.

“We’ve used these loans on more than five occasions,” he said.

Obtaining the low-interest loans was especially important when Berkebile was creating his company and “counting every dollar we spent,” he said.

The state economic development agency implemented the certification requirement this year in an attempt to professionalize the delivery of services, Silka said.

“The businesses were not being served in all areas by professional staff who can technically guide those businesses through the process,” he said.

The certification process involved a review of the development council’s professional staff qualifications, board composition, facilities and business organization and practices, he said.

There is a lot of paperwork involved in applying for and obtaining these loans. The development council is set up to analyze all the information and to “poise the business for success,” he said.

Berkebile agreed.

“The development council was our first point of contact to obtain these loans,” he said. “They helped walk us through all the paperwork needed to apply for the loans. They reviewed it before we applied for the loans. They are very involved in the process.”